E85Forum.com

burto355 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 12

G'day Guys,
Down here in Australia we can get pump E85 for about $1.07 a litre, I currently buy my E85 in a 44 gallon drum which i know is 85% ethanol and 15% 98 ron petrol which is $2.00 a litre
The question i ask is there anything else that goes into the fuel to make it usable? like corrosion inhibitors or anything?
if it is just that i will just go and buy 100% ethanol and mix it myself
Any help?
_________________
love the smell of E85 race fuel in the morning

Alcohol · Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 634 Location: Central Wisconsin

Not sure about where you live but here it is just dry spec ethanol and corrosion inhibitor.

USA spec ethanol is 2% denaturant (which does nothing for you- it is just for poisoning), corrosion inhibitor, PHe of near 6.8 to a basic 7.7 (if I recall correctly), certain metals such as copper, alum are tested and kept to min, chlorides and sulfates are also tested for and kept extremely low. Moisture content <0.8%. Methanol is also limited to under 0.5% if my memory serves me.

Generally other than corrosion inhibitor- no other additives are needed and some additives can be detrimental since they were made for gasoline. Avoid MMT (which would be silly to add anyway- as it is an octane enhancer that is outlawed here in North America)

xrcuta · Joined: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 23 Location: Australia

burto355 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 12

but what is the inhibitor?
_________________
love the smell of E85 race fuel in the morning

xrcuta · Joined: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 23 Location: Australia

sorry, cant tell you as i dont have a clue. although i did a search on google and seems like theres some info on inhibitors for ethanol...

Alcohol · Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 634 Location: Central Wisconsin

This website explains it briefly in it's product descriptions- they are made for specific uses in antifreeze, cooling water systems, lube oils, fuels, --nearly everything:

http://www.rtvanderbilt.com/petro_4.htm

Such as this description:
NACAP is a corrosion inhibitor for water, alcohol and glycol systems. Particularly effective in preventing corrosion of copper and brass. Widely used in antifreeze where it functions as a copper corrosion inhibitor and alkaline buffer. It is an excellent corrosion inhibitor for aluminum in systems where aluminum is used in the presence of copper and copper alloys. NACAP is one of the standard copper corrosion inhibitors for the anti-freeze industry. Used as a chemical intermediate.

Here is a link showing the commercial inibitors used by ethanol producers in the USA when making fuel grade ethanol. These are unlikely to be used in any medical or even some industrial alcohols;

http://www.biofuelshub.com/features/4-features/1086-the-common-corrosion-inhibitors-for-ethanol-fuel

Where I buy E85 they use the first one--Octel DCI 11. I would have no clue where you could find it because of the tiny amount you would need. I will say that if you use metals that are safe for methanol (ie stainless or hard annodized aluminum)- you will be easily in good shape for the far less corrosive ethanol even without the corrosion inhibitor.